Joel Richardson – WNDhttp://www.wnd.com
A Free Press For A Free People Since 1997Mon, 19 Mar 2018 12:45:33 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6Rebirth of the Turkish Caliphate -- and why it mattershttp://www.wnd.com/2017/08/rebirth-of-the-turkish-caliphate-and-why-it-matters/
http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/rebirth-of-the-turkish-caliphate-and-why-it-matters/#respondFri, 11 Aug 2017 23:08:44 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=4604527In 2004, when I wrote my book “Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast,” the nation of Turkey was still viewed by virtually all Western political analysts as the model government to be replicated throughout the Muslim world. The AKP party, led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was looked to as proof positive that moderate Islamist governments were possible. Even Reagan conservatives argued that moderate Islamist governments were the future of the region. If we simply offered people the option between freedom (albeit with an Islamist veneer) and traditional Middle Eastern authoritarianism, they would always choose freedom. Beyond this, it was argued that the hearts of the Turkish people were very much turning to the West, rejecting the values of the Muslim world to the east.

Despite the reality on the ground, however, this was not the future the Bible described for Asia Minor. Twenty-five-hundred years ago, the prophet Ezekiel foretold a last-days invasion of Israel that would specifically be led by Turkey. In my book “Mideast Beast,” I carefully work through Ezekiel’s prophecy to show how the Bible doesn’t point to a last-days Russian-led invasion of Israel, but instead points to an invasion led by Turkey. For the false perceptions of the early 21st century to become the grim reality described in the Bible, however, much had to change. These changes, as we’ve now witnessed, took far less time than most could have ever imagined. As recently as 2012, President Obama named Turkey’s current President Erdoğan as one of his top three closest friends among world leaders. A quick five years later, Erdoğan has emerged as one of the most dangerous dictators of our day.

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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Since Erdoğan has assumed complete control of Turkey, there are now more journalists in prison there than any other nation on the earth. The AKP-led government has assumed complete control over virtually every media outlet in the nation. The president has even sought to arrest his critics in nations as far abroad as Germany and the United States. Erdoğan openly stated that he has imprisoned foreign citizens to use as bargaining chips in his hope that foreign governments will extradite his critics to Turkey for punishment. Well over a hundred thousand of its own citizens have either been indefinitely imprisoned or fired from their jobs on suspicion of supporting opposition perspectives. Throughout the nation, men and woman continue to disappear randomly and suddenly, literally snatched off the streets simply for suspicion of holding critical views of the president. The elderly, those with incapacitating illnesses, pregnant women and even babies are now routinely incarcerated. The current national roundup of Erdoğan’s enemies, or political opponents, is eerily reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Yet this is just the beginning.

We have reached the point where the president of a NATO nation is now openly threatening European nations, while he increases military cooperation with Russia. Turkish forces brazenly attack U.S. allies in northern Syria and Iraq, and the president openly brags about it, taunting us to do anything about it. After sending Turkish troops into northern Iraq, Erdoğan responded to Iraqi President Abadi’s protests by saying, “We do not need your permission!” There is abundant evidence that for the first few years of the ISIS Caliphate, Erdoğan’s government was actually assisting them with everything from medical treatment in Turkey, to logistical support, to actually supplying them with weapons. Instead of working to destroy ISIS on its southern border, Turkey has worked to target the Kurds, the primary group responsible for successfully fighting ISIS these past three years. A prominent AKP-sponsored imam has even publicly called for a Turkish invasion of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a few dozen nuclear warheads still remain under Turkish control at the Inçirlik Airbase in eastern Turkey. Something has gone deeply, deeply wrong.

How did this all come about? To better understand how we got here, we need to step back to the early part of last century, when the Ottoman Empire was crumbling. Often referred to then as “the sick man of Europe,” Turkey’s economy was a complete quagmire. Meanwhile the industrial revolution throughout the West was in full swing. As developing technologies and the economies of the Western world were skyrocketing, Turkey, as the leader of much of the Islamic world, was floundering.

Enter Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. (Ataturk is actually an honorific title meaning the father of the Turks). Ataturk looked out and contrasted the ascendancy of Europe with the slumping condition of the Ottoman Empire and decided that he had discovered the problem. More than nearly anything else, it was Islam that was holding Turkey back from modernization, advancement and ultimately competing with Europe. Ataturk reasoned that if a more secular republic could be established, then Turkey would be unfettered to rise just like the West. While maintaining its Muslim cultural identity, the government itself would be free from the antiquated restraints of Islam. And so Ataturk become responsible not only for dissolving the government and office of the caliph (the religious-political-military head of the Muslim world located in Istanbul), but also setting in place a rigid system of checks and balances whereby Turkey would forever remain a more secular nation. If any particular government in Turkey become too Islamic, then the secular-controlled military would step in and remove it from power. Over the past 80 years in Turkey this actually has happened several times, with the secularist elites in control of the military each time wresting control of the Republic of Turkey back from any overly Islamist-oriented government.

While most students of history are familiar with Ataturk, few are familiar with another looming figure, a contemporary of Ataturk named Bediuzzaman Said Al-Nursî. (Bediuzzaman is also an honorific title meaning something along the line of, “the most wonderful, unique, elevated man of the time”.) Nursî was an imam and theologian who understood well the thought process of Ataturk and sought to counter his efforts to secularize Turkey. Of all the various Islamist thinkers with goals of restoring the Caliphate, Nursî is the dark horse, little known, even among many students of Islamic history. Beside Sayyid Qutb (father of the Muslim Brotherhood), Ibn Taymiyyah (Wahabbism, Salafism) and Abul A’la Maududi (Jamaat-e-Islami), Al-Nursî is easily just as important.

Turkish President Erdogan at the White House with President Trump May 16, 2017 (White House photo)

In my opinion, Nursî’s methodology was far superior to any of the other fathers of Islamist movements. Unlike the others who emphasized violent jihad to accomplish their goals, Nursî emphasized things like science, good deeds and interfaith dialogue. In this regard, Nursî is the father of what we could call “Turkish Islam.” Instead of confronting the Western world with acts of jihad and violent resistance, Nursî sought to create a form of Islam the West would welcome with open arms. It worked like clockwork. The West took the bait and swallowed the hook. This was the kind of Islam the West wanted to champion – a moderated, decaffeinated, Christianized form of Islam.

Taking the baton from Nursî, a highly charismatic imam named Fethullah Gülen dramatically expanded upon all Bediuzzaman started. Though preaching a more nationalist message than Nursî, Gülen also preached an Islam intermingled with an emphasis on education, science, charitable acts of kindness and service and its greatest outreach tool – interfaith dialogue. As wonderful as this may all sound to the modern ear, Gülen is also infamous for having been secretly recorded instructing his followers to “infiltrate the very arteries of the system” of society and government to “lay in wait until the most opportune time” to retake Turkey from the secularists to ultimately re-establish the Turkish-led Caliphate. Ironically, Gülen today lives in rural Pennsylvania, under the protection of the United States government. There are also over 120 charter schools in the U.S. under Gülen’s organization.

With regard to the rise of Erdoğan, What must be understood is that it was specifically this vast throng of Nursî and Gülen supporters who created the very backbone of Erdoğan’s support. The Gülenists had followed their leader’s dictates and infiltrated virtually every sphere of society. It was through this vast support base that Erdoğan rode to power over the past 15 years. It was not until the summer of 2013 that a dramatic spilt between the Gülenists and Erdoğan emerged. As the regional unrest of the Arab Spring finally reached Turkey, the Islamist government began violently cracking down on its own citizens. A handful died in the protests, and thousands were hospitalized. Having been in Taksim Square on May 15, 2013, the night of that year’s most violent crackdown on the protesters, I can testify that the tactics of the government against its people were absolutely brutal.

Concerned at the heavy handed tactics of Erdogan’s government, from his hideaway in Pennsylvania, Gülen began criticizing Erdoğan. Like any narcissistic dictator who demands absolute loyalty, Erdoğan would have absolutely none of it. What began as an escalating war of words soon grew into a full-blown clash of the titans. Gülen struck first with several high-level Erdoğan officials being arrested in multiple nighttime raids. Going for the jugular, the Gülenists targeted Erdoğan’s own son Bilal. To further rub salt into the wound, Gülen’s agents released a secret recording of President Erdoğan on the phone with his son, frantically warning him that the police were on their way and that he needed to immediately remove piles of boxes filled with cash from his house. Caught red-handed and utterly embarrassed, Erdoğan claimed the tapes were doctored – and although it was obviously his voice, he continues to vociferously deny it to this day. The gauntlet had been cast, and for the next few years the secret war between Erdoğan’s AKP supporters and Gülen’s deep-state followers continued to roll over at full boil.

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On the night of July 15, 2016, the conflict came to a full head, with the now infamous failed Turkish coup d’état. The attempt to overthrow the government was carried out by a faction within the military with ties to Fethullah Gülen. Despite a night of violent attacks and hundreds of deaths, by morning, Erdoğan had regained control of the nation and crushed the rebellion. Immediately, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry took to the podium and publicly called on all Turkish political parties and citizens to support Erdoğan and the AKP party.

Turkey’s soccer team listens as a stadium of 17,000 fans boo and chant “Allahu Akbar!” during a moment of silence for victims of 2015 Paris terror attacks

Since that night, analysts have sought to determine wether the coup was a genuine failed coup or if it was all staged by Erdoğan and his agents. The best analysis seems to indicate that it was likely a controlled coup attempt, one the AKP-run government had advance knowledge of and yet allowed to happen as an excuse to carry out the harsh purge of its political opponents.

This wouldn’t be the first time the AKP had staged a red-flag event for the purpose of removing its political enemies. On two occasions the government claimed that the leaders of the Turkish military were engaged in a conspiracy theory to stage a series of terrorist attacks throughout the nation, as an excuse to remove the Islamist led AKP party. Instead, the AKP had hundreds of top military leaders arrested and removed from office. They were all replaced by officers faithful to Erdoğan. The AKP had effectively beheaded the only wing of the Turkish government capable of removing a runaway Islamist dictatorship.

It worked perfectly the first time, and it worked even better the second time. Just one year after the failed coup, Erdoğan’s government has arrested over 123,000 citizens, has fired over 145,000, removed nearly 9,000 academics, closed over 2,000 schools, arrested nearly 300 journalists, shut down close to 200 media outlets, and has dismissed close to 5,000 judges. This doesn’t include the increasing number of men and woman who continue to simply disappear, having been literally snatched off the streets never to be seen again. This is unparalleled in modern history. Turkey has experienced its own “Nacht der langen Messer,” or “Night of Long-Knives.” Hitler’s 1934 extrajudicial assault on his own supporters know as “the Brownshirts,” bears a striking resemblance to Erdoğan’s purge of the Gülenists. Although he could not have become president if not for their support, he turned on them and crushed them.

Now that Erdoğan has attained absolute power over Turkey, the moderate character that he played to win the support of the Western world is no longer needed. His mask has been removed and his true colors revealed. Now he is free to openly threaten European leaders. As I have been warning for well over a decade, the moderate Islamist who supports democracy was all a facade. His plan, declared nearly 20 years ago, went perfectly according to his plan. As he said then, “Democracy is like a streetcar. You ride it until you get where you need to get, and then you get off.” This is exactly where we find ourselves today.

So what does the future hold?

In 2013, during the height of the Turkish riots, I not only attended one of the protests, but also attended a massive political rally for Erdoğan. This was far and away the largest gathering I have ever been to in my life. As far as the eye could see, there was a throng of supporters waving Turkish flags and chanting their heor’s name: “Recep. Tayyip. Erdoğan. Recep-Tayyip-Erdoğan!” I commented then, and will reiterate now, I have never felt as though I were watching history repeat as clearly as I did that day. The combination of nationalism, Islamism and over-the-top political hero worship on display that day should be terrifying to anyone with foresight. One would have to have been completely blind not to have seen the dark ghost of Nazi Germany hanging over the crowd that day.

For years, analysts tried to shout down warnings that Erdoğan has a desire to return to the Ottoman era. Today those same critics are taking a fresh look at the man they once made excuses for and even championed. On the day Erdoğan won the referendum (allowing him to rewrite the Turkish constitution and which effectively brought an end to the secular democratic Republic of Turkey as envisioned by Ataturk), to celebrate his victory, he made a very symbolic statement. Not only did he specifically avoid visiting the tomb of Ataturk, but instead, he visited the tomb of Sultan Selim I. He was making a very clear statement. Known as Selim the Grim, the Sultan ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. He is most remembered for his expansionist conquest over Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Erdoğan was sending a very clear message. The era of Ataturk is over. There is a new Sultan Selim the Grim in power.

One of the greatest mysteries in Scripture – solved at last! Discover the terrifying truth behind the shadowy identity of one of the greatest horrors of the End Times. New York Times bestselling author Joel Richardson reveals the secret of “Mystery Babylon” Available now in the WND Superstore.

There is a Turkish proverb that says, “Show the people death, and they will happily embrace malaria.” In other words, compared to the horror of the ISIS Caliphate, a Turkish Caliphate looks quite appealing. Even in the Western press, various think tanks and op-ed pieces are now suggesting that the key to Middle Eastern stability is a return to Ottoman regional control – a new Turkish Ottoman order of sorts.

As the ISIS Caliphate collapses, and much of the civilized world is breathing a sigh of relief, many others throughout the Muslim world, while acknowledging the horrific excesses of ISIS, also recognize that there is indeed a significant cry through the Muslim world for the restoration of the Caliphate. Having a Caliphate in place is an essential part of Muslim life and doctrine. It is as foundational to Muslims as having a pope in office is to Catholics. Within Islamic theology and practice, the Caliphate is the very means by which Shariah (“God’s law” as Muslims might say), is be established, safeguarded and ultimately spread throughout the world. Since that fateful year of 1923 when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk oversaw the dismantling of the Ottoman Caliphate, Islamist thinkers, dreamers and the organizations they birthed have been strategizing and fighting to see its restoration.

As the ISIS Caliphate collapses, there is a much larger shadow rising not only over the Middle East, but also well into Europe. The history of American foreign policy has somewhat been a circus of creating our enemies of tomorrow, today. We did it with the Taliban. We did it with Saddam Hussein. We arguably did it with Osama bin Laden. Each time, it was a short decade or more before we were at war with the very entities we had supported, backed and even trained. After 16 years in Afghanistan and Iraq, with American military resources drained,and well over 4,000 American soldiers dead, one could argue the region is in a worse condition than when we first began. But here’s the kicker; the Taliban and Saddam Hussein are small potatoes compared to Turkey, a nation that has the largest army in the Middle East. If my understanding of biblical prophecy is correct, this time, the very monster that the United States helped to create, is going to be a lot more than the world can handle.

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/rebirth-of-the-turkish-caliphate-and-why-it-matters/feed/0What Christians miss about the Gospelhttp://www.wnd.com/2015/08/what-christians-miss-about-the-gospel/
http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/what-christians-miss-about-the-gospel/#respondFri, 14 Aug 2015 23:45:47 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=2325575If you ask most Christians why Jesus died on the cross, they will most often quote John 3:16, affirming that, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The idea is that the “good news” of the Bible is summarized in that Jesus died on the cross so that anyone who believes in Him can go to heaven after they die.

Of course, when Christians say these kind of things, they are not wrong. This is certainly part of the good news. But the Gospel is far more than just John 3:16 and being saved from hell. The Gospel, as it was proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles, is an extension of the good news that was proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. So what else beyond merely going to heaven after we die is entailed when we speak of God’s good news for mankind?

The simple answer to this question is found in the phrase, “the restoration of all things.” Shortly after Pentecost, when Peter preached God’s good news to the crowds, he specifically spoke of the “the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time” (Acts 3:21). What is this period, what were the prophets speaking of, and what exactly will be restored?

The period being spoken of is the age of the Messiah, after Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom. As to what will be restored, Jesus will not only restore the Earth, but also the Kingdom of Israel. Within the grand unfolding plan of God are His many promises not only to restore Eden, a glorious garden-paradise, but also to restore the Jewish Kingdom to a glory far greater than during the days of King David or Solomon.

Let’s consider just a few of the passages that speak of these days. In the prophecy of Isaiah, we are told that during the messianic age, in partnership with Jesus, the righteous will actually renovate the Earth: “Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations” (Isaiah 61:4). Elsewhere, the prophet Amos speaks of the days “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; when the mountains will drip sweet wine.” Under the rule of Jesus, God’s people will, “plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit” (Amos 9:9-15). The prophet Zechariah says that “‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree'” (Zechariah 3:10).

In speaking of those days, the prophet Ezekiel describes a river that will run southward, out of Jerusalem, turning the Dead Sea into a fresh water lake, teeming with life:

It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many. (Ezekiel 47:9-10)

When is the last time any Christian you know declared the good news that in the age to come, after we die, we will be able to fish? I don’t know about you, but for me, this is truly good news!

The Scriptures also affirm that after Jesus returns, He will set in place a new global leadership structure. From God’s perspective, the primary purpose of every position of leadership is to serve others. Yet today, I think it is fair to say that many if not most politicians seek and maintain positions of authority not primarily for the purpose of truly serving others, but to secure greater wealth, power and control. This is a problem that is common throughout the world. How will Jesus respond to this when He returns? Psalm 110 tells us that Jesus will literally kill unrighteous rulers and politicians throughout the Earth: “The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country” (Psalm 110:5,6).

Not only will Jesus’ return be accompanied by his execution of a host of wicked, self-serving politicians and dictators throughout the world, but He will also replace them with those who have proven themselves to be faithful and humble leaders: “Well done, my good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities,” He will declare (Luke 19:17). When I think of how many throughout the Earth groan under the weight of oppressive government, I rejoice at this profoundly good news. Genuinely humble servant leaders will assist Jesus in governing the new world. Hallelujah!

Yet as wonderful and glorious as these descriptions of a restored Earth are, they are only part of the picture. Beyond a restored and glorified garden paradise, the Scriptures also speak of a glorified, restored Kingdom of Israel. If we neglect to proclaim either of these two dimensions of the coming messianic age, we are simply not proclaiming the complete Gospel message that was declared by God’s “holy prophets from ancient time.”

After Jesus rose from the dead, His disciples asked Him about the time that He would restore the glory of the Jewish kingdom, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6-7). In no way did Jesus rebuke his disciples for their question. Instead, He assured them that at the proper time, according to the time set by the Father, He will return and restore the Kingdom of Israel. The Scriptures are brimming with references that testify to this reality. At the onset of the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that the son she would bear would forever reign on the restored throne of David:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33 emphasis mine).

The throne of David, we must understand is not a vague reference to the rule of Jesus. This is the restored Jewish royal monarchy.

Later, as Jesus spoke to His disciples, He told them of the time after He returns when they would assist him in judging the 12 tribes of Israel:

“Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28-29).

The restoration of all 12 tribes in the age to come shows that indeed we are looking forward to a fully restored Kingdom of Israel. Though few Christians discuss this aspect of the Bible, the Scriptures in both the Old and New testaments are brimming with descriptions of the coming kingdom of God.

When we take a real hard look at the way the Christian church has related to the Jewish community throughout most of church history, it is no surprise that a failure to recognize this critical aspect of the good news – namely the coming restoration of the Kingdom of Israel – often accompanied the horrific mistreatment of the Jewish people by Christians. In my most recent book, “When a Jew Rules the World,” I carefully lay out the case for why the Christian church must reclaim the fullness of the Gospel as it was proclaimed by Jesus and the apostles. In doing so, we will accomplish much. First, we will proclaim a message that most Jews – those who are far more Old Testament literate than many Christians – will relate to, understand and receive far more naturally. Second, we will be much better equipped to avoid the great errors and sins of our forefathers with the long history of Christian persecution of the Jewish people. And finally, we will prepare our hearts to receive Jesus at His return with hearts full of joy and understanding as we all together exclaim with fullness of joy: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12:13).

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/what-christians-miss-about-the-gospel/feed/0The right response to Coptic 21's martyrdomhttp://www.wnd.com/2015/02/the-right-response-to-coptic-21s-martyrdom/
http://www.wnd.com/2015/02/the-right-response-to-coptic-21s-martyrdom/#respondTue, 17 Feb 2015 00:33:08 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=1704765On Feb. 15, 2015, the Islamic State in Libya released another gruesome video of 21 Coptic Christians being beheaded on the beach in Libya. A screen shot below captures the scene moments before the men were beheaded by the Muslim mujaheddin. Having watched portions of the video, my emotions are profoundly stirred. I rarely weep. But as I watched this, I wept uncontrollably.

When I wrote “Islamic Antichrist” 11 years ago, I wrote rather extensively on this issue, hoping to awaken the global church to what was, and is coming. I say that not as a prophet, but simply as one who believes the words of Scripture.

“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

– Revelation 20:4

The video captures this brother below praying moments before his death. His final words were, “Ya Rab Yesua,” or in English, “Yea, Lord Jesus.”

What worries me is that from the West, we see these things, and we think not in terms of joining our brothers and sisters in becoming such martyrs/witnesses for Jesus (Greek: martus), but more often we respond in fear or anger or in raging for revenge. This is somewhat understandable – but the early church had a very defined theology of martyrdom. That martyrdom embodied the highest form of witness of God. For as God is presently having mercy in this age toward His enemies (including we who were His enemies), Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, waiting to make His enemies His footstool. But that time is not yet. Though Jesus could call on 12 legions of angels in a moment and consume the earth in fire with angels (as He will do), in this age, He has chosen to refrain. This refraining is out of mercy to His enemies, as He said before His execution, “Father forgive them.”

Though reviled, he didn’t revile in return. Though he suffered, he didn’t threaten, but continually entrusted His soul to Him who judges justly. So in His martyrdom, he showed the mercy of God. We also, those of us who have inherited the tremendous responsibility of the last days, are also called to imitate Jesus. The Lord is patient, not wanting any to perish, but for all to repent unto eternal life. Why, then, do we who have received mercy not seek to be witnesses of His mercy? Why are we so often first and foremost bent on revenge? I fear that many, in the name of “righteous justice,” will fail to be the witnesses that He called us to be.

In Revelation 6:11, we see a picture of the souls of the end-time martyrs under the altar of God crying out, saying, “How long oh God, until you avenge our death and judge the earth?” It is an apocalyptic picture of the Day of the Lord. They are crying out, “When is it going to come, when is it going to be completed, oh Lord?” And God tells them to “wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” And so we have a view that one of the primary timing indicators for the Day of the Lord is the fullness of martyrs.

At the end of the age, God is going to bring to both culmination and fullness, the witness concerning His mercy to all the nations. And the martyrdom of the saints among all the nations is and will be His primary method of displaying His mercy. This will come to a cataclysmic head under the rule of the Antichrist at the end of the age.

The days are quickly approaching. Let us not merely pray, but also resolve, yea even plan, to stand firm to the end, remaining faithful like our brothers here who have just gone on before us. To be clear, this is not to say that we do not support military action and a just response again these criminals. I am not a pacifist. But let us resist the fleshly carnal spirit of the age that yearns primarily for revenge. Let us make our highest priority the opportunity to testify, to be witnesses for Jesus.

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2015/02/the-right-response-to-coptic-21s-martyrdom/feed/0Muslim prayer in National Cathedral: WWJD?http://www.wnd.com/2014/11/muslim-prayer-in-national-cathedral-wwjd/
http://www.wnd.com/2014/11/muslim-prayer-in-national-cathedral-wwjd/#respondThu, 20 Nov 2014 00:20:55 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=1437575Last week, a historical event took place in what is often called the Washington National Cathedral. In an effort to show how magnanimous they are, the Episcopal leaders of the cathedral invited a local Muslim group to use the church to conduct a formal Islamic prayer service. The unprecedented nature of an organized Muslim service in such a high-profile – perhaps the most high-profile – Christian cathedral in the nation stirred up a tremendous amount of emotion and opinion across the nation. Many conservative Christians saw this as a tremendously symbolic and portentous event marking a significant leap backwards in our nation’s ongoing free-fall into spiritual decay. How ironic is it that a woman who stood up at the beginning of the service to declare that “Jesus Christ is Lord” was abruptly and forcibly removed from the church by security guards?

No doubt, this was a sad day for the United States. The same religious group that breached our nation’s security system to bring down the Twin Towers on 9/11 have now been welcomed into the nation’s very spiritual arteries.

On the other hand, is anyone really surprised? The National Cathedral, after all, is an Episcopalian cathedral. And though that building holds a place of profound historical significance, spiritually speaking, the leadership of this denomination has all but walked away from the faith Jesus represents a long time ago. This is the same group, after all, that allowed an openly gay man to serve as a bishop and that only a few months ago allowed a “transgendered” priest to give a sermon at the same cathedral “as part of the church’s celebration of LGBT pride month.” In truth, it has long been predictable that this den of apostasy would roll the red carpet out to accommodate and facilitate completely non-Christian groups to worship their false gods. (The true test of tolerance of course, would be to invite the Muslim imam to give a sermon on how the rooftop of the cathedral would serve as the perfect spot to toss off gays to their death, which is exactly what Islamic law commands Muslims to do to homosexuals like Bishop Robinson.) But I digress.

My point is this: For my part, I shook the dust of this denomination from my feet a long time ago. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the majority of confessing Christians throughout the United States agree with me on this. The hyper-liberal Episcopalian leadership does not represent us. In every way possible, we renounce this shameful thing they’ve done, and we ask the Lord to have mercy on this great nation.

But I also think there is another incredibly important angle to all of this that we as conservatives must very soberly consider. As I read the various commentary pieces written about this, the response has largely been to express disappointment, sadness, anger and indignation. And all of these feelings are fully merited. But one thing I’ve not seen anyone asking is what we as conservative Christians – followers of Jesus – should be doing in response. Over the past few years, since the rise in popularity of books like Rabbi Jonathan’s Cahn’s book “The Harbinger,” which serve as warnings as to what will come to this nation if we do not repent, I’ve wrestled a tremendous amount with what it would take to truly turn this country around. And one thing I am absolutely convinced of is that our go-to reaction of complaining and griping most certainly is not the solution.

It may be a slightly overused cliché, but we need to remember that it is always better to light a candle than to simply curse the darkness. And if the truth be told, as I assess the landscape of the American church, on one side I see the liberals openly giving themselves over to apostasy, while too much of the conservative church excels in cursing the darkness – but is not nearly as adept at doing what is necessary to change the nation.

As shameful as it is that the liberals welcomed Muslims into their church to conduct a prayer service, it is more shameful that we have several million Muslims living in the U.S., and conservative Christians are doing very little to reach them with the Gospel. The liberals may be engaging Muslims in a completely wrong way, but we conservatives are barely engaging them at all. Liberal “Christians” inviting Muslims into churches to have their services is how we cease being Christian. Conservative Christians inviting Muslims to their homes for dinner to get to know them, to love them and to share the Gospel is how we build the Church.

Are we Christians not those who have the words of life? Is the Gospel not the power of God unto salvation, for all who believe? Friends, we are the ones who carry the only message that can counteract the “gospel” of the Islamic caliphate now pulling at so many of the Muslim youth of the world.

As we enter into the last days – and I believe we are there – it is absolutely imperative that we Christians learn how to respond to the increasing darkness as Jesus would respond. Listen to me when I say that if we do not do this, the increasing darkness will consume us; the onslaught of daily bad news will kill us. If we are ever to see a genuine revival take place here in the United Sates, if this country is ever going turn around, we must stop reacting in such a carnal way and strive to become more like Jesus.

If we think that we can turn the country around by doing what we have been doing, then we are as delusional as the Episcopalian leadership. And on the day of judgment, we will be found just as guilty. Beloved, we can continue to curse the darkness day after day after day, or we can look to Jesus, and with him as our one and only standard, we can repent.

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2014/11/muslim-prayer-in-national-cathedral-wwjd/feed/0Is ISIS' caliphate a harbinger of the Antichrist?http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/is-isis-caliphate-a-harbinger-of-the-antichrist/
http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/is-isis-caliphate-a-harbinger-of-the-antichrist/#respondFri, 05 Sep 2014 21:12:12 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=1205945Seven years ago, Al Gore was warning us that all of the polar ice caps would be completely gone by now. I was warning of a caliphate.

For the past 10 years, I’ve diligently sought to awaken the Church to the fact that the Hebrew prophets point to a Middle Eastern Antichrist who will emerge from the region of Turkey, Syria or Iraq. Some have examined the evidence and recognized the solid scriptural basis for this view. Others have questioned, debated, or even maligned this perspective. The truth, however, is that although some naysayers have tried to cast this view as a “lone ranger” perspective, in broad historical terms, I have been far from alone in espousing it. In fact, many great Christian expositors have recognized the biblical evidence for this view. Many even foresaw that a last-days caliphate would be established in the region of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. In light of the astounding re-establishment of an Islamic caliphate for the first time in over 80 years in Iraq and Syria, let us consider a few of the great Christian expositors and teachers who foresaw precisely what we are witnessing today.

The first was Hippolytus of Rome (170–235). Hippolytus was an important theologian of the early third century. In speaking of the Antichrist, he said this:

“That these things, then, are said of no one else but that tyrant, and shameless one, and adversary of God, we shall show in what follows. But Isaiah also speaks thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, that when the Lord has performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish (visit) the stout mind, the king of Assyria, and the greatness (height) of the glory of his eyes.'” (emphasis added)

The second theologian who foresaw the Antichrist as emerging from the region now controlled by ISIS was Victorinus of Pettau (240–304). Victorinus was an early Christian bishop and the author of the most ancient complete commentary on the book of Revelation in our possession. In this ancient commentary, Victorinus identified the Antichrist as “the Assyrian” mentioned in Micah 5:5 who would invade the land of Israel only to be destroyed by Jesus upon His return.

The next witness is Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (240 – 320). Lactantius was yet another early Church writer from the third century who wrote much on the end times. Amazingly, Lactantius specifically stated that the Antichrist would come from the Roman Province of Syria:

“A king shall arise out of Syria, born from an evil spirit, the overthrower and destroyer of the human race, who shall destroy that which is left by the former evil, together with himself. … But that king will not only be most disgraceful in himself, but he will also be a prophet of lies … and power will be given to him to do signs and wonders, by the sight of which he may entice men to adore him. … Then he will attempt to destroy the temple of God and persecute the righteous people.” (emphasis added)

Many are surprised to discover that Clarence Larkin (1850–1924), the great dispensational teacher, also foresaw these things. Larkin was an American Baptist pastor, Bible teacher and author whose works continue to sell to this day. In his book “Dispensational Truth,” Larkin wrote, “It is clear that the Antichrist is to come from Syria. … We are to understand therefore by the ‘King of the North’ the King of Syria, which also included Assyria. This fixes the locality from which the Antichrist shall come. …”

One of my favorite commentators is G.H. Lang (1874–1958). Lang was a magnificent British expositor whose commentary on the book on Daniel received the highest endorsement from the legendary biblical scholar F.F. Bruce. In Lang’s “The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel,” he said the following:

Therefore the Antichrist will be the king of Assyria with Babylon as his capital, which of old was in the dominion of Seleucus, who gained the eastern area of the empire of Alexander. Thus when the Antichrist arises, he will not come at Rome, or any where else in the west. Had this been understood, many vain and misleading speculations would have been avoided, such that of the pope, or the Papacy, or Napoleon, or others being he. And when he comes, his military efforts will be expended mainly upon Egypt and the south, the east, and Palestine.

Arthur W. Pink (1886–1952), an English evangelist and biblical scholar also well-known for his work “The Antichrist,” likewise identified the Antichrist as coming from the Middle Eastern region of the former Assyrian Empire:

“We have seen that the scriptures which help us to determine the direction from which he will arise, speak of him under the title of the ‘Little Horn.’ Now the first thing this title denotes is that he is a king, king of Assyria. … [After he] acquires the crown of Syria he will speedily enlarge his dominions.”

Now, to be clear, the various references to the Antichrist as “the Assyrian” are not ethnic denotations. Instead, it points to the region from which the Antichrist will likely emerge. In the same way that, for example, the prophet Joel speaks of the destruction of Philistia in the Day of the Lord (Joel 3:4), he was not speaking of the judgment of ethnic Philistines when Jesus returns, but of those enemies of His people, who occupy the region of ancient Philistia. So also do the biblical references point to Assyria as the region from which the Antichrist will emerge, but do not indicate that he will ethnically be an Assyrian. Today, the majority of the Assyrian people are Chaldean Christians. Most of those who had continued to live in the region of ancient Assyria have now been forced to flee the onslaught of ISIS.

All of these men of God foresaw the Antichrist and his empire as arising from the same region where we have now witnessed the re-establishment of an Islamic caliphate. All of these men looked to the words of the Hebrew prophets and came to similar conclusions. They foresaw in quite a remarkable way what has now unfolded before all of us. As radical Muslims continue to murder, kidnap, rape, behead, crucify and slaughter their way across the Middle East, now it the time for the Church to wake up and diligently study the Scriptures to discern if all of these events indeed provide us with a genuine harbinger of the coming Antichrist and the soon coming return of Jesus.

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.” (Luke 12:37)

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/is-isis-caliphate-a-harbinger-of-the-antichrist/feed/0What does Bible say about the future of Gaza?http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/what-does-bible-say-about-the-future-of-gaza/
http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/what-does-bible-say-about-the-future-of-gaza/#respondWed, 30 Jul 2014 23:32:22 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=1097185As the focus of the world is now fixed on the Gaza Strip, students of the Bible would do well to stop to consider what the ancient Hebrew prophets had to say about the future of this little piece of land. Let’s consider a few passages. First, according to the Scriptures, the return of Jesus and the subsequent judgment will largely revolve around what the prophet Isaiah referred to as, “the legal cause,” or “the controversy of Zion”:

For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. (Isaiah 34:8)

No doubt, today the “controversy of Zion” rages throughout the nations, as the state of Israel seeks to crush the Gaza-governing Hamas, a group with the stated goal of exterminating the Jewish people and setting up their capital in Jerusalem.

According to several prophets, the controversy will only intensify as we draw closer to the return of Jesus, when a vast coalition of nations will invade Israel and surround the city of Jerusalem, seeking to commit the final genocide against the Jewish people. The prophet Joel tells us that the Lord will execute judgment against all parties involved in this invasion, and specifically any who force the dividing of His land:

I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land. (Joel 3:2)

Jehoshaphat is the valley that runs north to south, between the Temple Mount, and the Mount of Olives. In Matthew 25, as Jesus was actually sitting on the Mount of Olives looking down at the Valley of Jehoshaphat, He declared that when He returns, He Himself will sit as the judge of the nations. He declared that He would judge the nations specifically based on how they treated his “brethren.” It is clear that Jesus was harkening back to Joel 3, actually inserting Himself into the passage as YHVH, the divine Judge. We must also note that Joel also informs us that the judgment will be based on how the nations treated “My people and My inheritance, Israel” and also on their having, “divided up My land.”

As the prophecy continues, it goes on to speak of the Lord specifically executing vengeance against those from the regions of Lebanon and Gaza who have engaged in violence against the people of Israel:

What are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon (Lebanon) and all the regions of Philistia (Gaza)? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. (Joel 3:4)

Where it says “Tyre, Sidon,” and “the regions of Philistia” one could nearly insert Hezbollah and Hamas. It is nearly pulled from today’s headlines.

The prophecy, of course, is not speaking of every single inhabitant of Lebanon and Gaza. The specific emphasis of the prophecy is on those who have sought out “violence” to “shed innocent blood” in the land of Judah:

Edom (shall become) a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah will be inhabited forever And Jerusalem for all generations. And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, for the LORD dwells in Zion. (Joel 3:19-21)

Like Joel, so also does the prophet Ezekiel reveal that Jesus will come back to execute judgment against those who embrace and foment the “ancient hatred” directed toward the Jewish people and shed the blood of “the children of Israel”:

“Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity … therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. (Ezekiel 35:5-7) (emphasis mine)

While it is clear that Jesus passionately loves all peoples and is grieved over the loss of innocent life on both sides of the present conflict, the Scriptures are also painfully clear that when He comes back, because of the aforementioned violence and hatred, the region of Gaza will be devastated. The prophet Zephaniah, in specifically speaking of the Day of the Lord, warns the inhabitants of Gaza to repent; “Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’S anger.” Then comes a very stark description of what lies ahead for Gaza when Jesus returns:

For Gaza will be abandoned. … Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant. So the seacoast will be pastures, with caves for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will care for them and restore their fortune. (Zephaniah 2:4-7)

Now, for those who are seeking to take a middle-of-the-road stance, it may be a hard pill to swallow that much of Gaza will become devastated and deserted, being left for the righteous remnant of Judah. This, however, is exactly what the prophecy declared. This is not a historical prophecy. The prophecy is ultimately pertaining to the Day of the Lord and the Return of Jesus.

Does it shock anyone that world events are now aligning more and more with the state of affairs that the ancient Hebrew prophets spoke of just prior to the return of Jesus? In pondering all of these things, we must all tremble. For in truth, through this passage the Lord is not merely warning those from Gaza, but everyone – Jew, Palestinian, you and me – to righteousness, humility and repentance. If we hear this warning and genuinely take it to heart, then as the prophet says, “Perhaps [we] will be hidden In the day of the LORD’S anger.”

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/what-does-bible-say-about-the-future-of-gaza/feed/0What the new caliphate means for worldhttp://www.wnd.com/2014/07/what-the-new-caliphate-means-for-the-world/
http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/what-the-new-caliphate-means-for-the-world/#respondTue, 01 Jul 2014 23:34:36 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=1010715Two weeks ago, our illustrious President Obama stood in the White House and made the following statement:

“[T]he truth of the matter is that for all the challenges we face, all the problems that we have, if you had to be – if you had to choose any moment to be born in human history, not knowing what your position was going to be, who you were going to be, you’d choose this time. The world is less violent than it has ever been. It is healthier than it has ever been. It is more tolerant than it has ever been. It is better fed then it’s ever been. It is more educated than it’s ever been.”

On Sunday afternoon, my Twitter account lit up, as the various radical Muslims I follow erupted with jubilant declarations that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) had officially declared a caliphate – an Islamic state ruled by Islamic Shariah. No longer is it ISIS, but simply the Islamic State (IS). After an official meeting of ISIS’ shura (religious) council, they named their shadowy leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, to be the Emir al-Mu’minin, or the commander of the faithful – the first “caliph” in roughly 90 years. The caliph is essentially a Muslim pope, president and general all rolled into one.

The potential implications for the world are absolutely profound. First, according to Islamic jurisprudence, once a caliph has been declared, it is mandatory upon all Muslims to make a pledge of allegiance to the sitting caliph, known in Arabic as the bay’ah. The bay’ah translated is as follows:

“I pledge my allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful, to hear and obey, in hardship and in blessings, to establish the religion of Allah, and to enforce Allah’s Shariah, and to expand the order of Allah, to establish the global Islamic state.”

According to various hadith (Muslim sacred traditions found outside of the Quran), if one does not make the pledge, he will die the death of jahiliyya, or as a non-Muslim, and should be treated as a non-Muslim:

“[W]hen he stands before Allah on the Day of Judgment, and one who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance (to an Amir) will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahillyya.” (Abu Muslim 20: 4562)

Already, there have been numerous tribal leaders and jihadi groups that have pledged their allegiance to the caliph with their lives. What groups will follow? What might it look like if various groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabab in Somalia and Kenya, al-Qaida in Yemen, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, and perhaps even segments of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and throughout the world begin swearing allegiance to the caliph? The dangers of a snowballing trend is profound. Rather than having an Islamic State spanning segments of Syria and Iraq, there could be smaller segments of the Islamic State in numerous other nations.

Consider the fact that even here in the United States, Mohamed Elibiary, one of three senior fellows on President Obama’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, is an open supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, the goal of which is the re-establishment of the caliphate. Elibiary is an open supporter of the R4bia movement. According to its own website, R4bia is, among other things, the following:

R4BIA is the birth of a new world

R4BIA is the return of Muslims to world stage

R4BIA is the place where the so-called values of the West collapsed

R4BIA is the name of those who wake all the Islamic world with their death

R4BIA is justice for everyone against rotten Western values

R4BIA is unification of Islamic World

R4BIA is the end of oil sheikhs

R4BIA is the end of capitalists

R4BIA is the end of Zionists

R4BIA is the arena of martyrdom

R4BIA is a smiling martyrdom

How many Americans honestly feel comfortable knowing that the very man who openly supports the above statements was appointed by President Obama as a senior adviser within the Department of Homeland Security?

Another significant reality now that the caliphate has been restored is that it is actually mandatory for the caliphate to engage in perpetual jihad until there are literally no non-Muslims left throughout the world, or they submit to being subjected peoples:

Allah’s Apostle [Muhammad] said: “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle.” (Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24)

He must strive in jihad against those who stubbornly reject Islam after being called to it, until they become Muslim or agree to live under Muslim protection and pay jizyah, so that the rights of Allah will be fulfilled and His religion will prevail over all others.

Even beyond the official state jihad, it is also incumbent upon all Muslims everywhere to expand the rule of Islam through individual jihad. One of the significant debates that many Muslim jurists had with Osama bin Laden is that jihad is not technically legal according to Islamic Shariah unless there is a sitting caliph. Well, now there is one. As such, the potential for various lone-wolf terrorism attacks throughout the world has just absolutely ballooned.

Already there have been numerous pictures popping up on Twitter of Muslims gathering in European nations and throughout the world, donning the black flag of of the Islamic State to show their support. The danger that these groups hold for their host countries is tremendous.

Only two weeks ago, President Obama declared that the world is safer now than it ever has been, that it’s truly a wonderful time to be alive. Based on the various videos of celebrating Sunni Muslims in cities from Mosul to Raqqa, if you are a radical Muslim, then Obama may very well be right. A new day has dawned.

If you are a student of Bible prophecy, then I want you to get your Bible out and open it to Daniel chapter 8. Now, if you consult nearly any commentary on the Book of Daniel, you’ll find they nearly all interpret this prophecy as fulfilled in history. The prophecy begins with a ram butting to the west, to the north and to the south, which most believe refers to the historical conquests of the Medo-Persian Empire:

[B]ehold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last. I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself. (vv. 3-4)

After this, a male goat with a single prominent horn charged from the east and crushed the ram. Most understand this to refer to the historical conquests of the Greek armies (the goat) led by Alexander the Great (the prominent horn):

While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power (vv. 5-7).

No sooner does the Greek goat defeat the Persians and exalt itself that its great leader dies or “was broken.” After this, four other horns grow up in its place. One of these horns in particular, starts small, but eventually becomes great, controlling much of the Middle East. Most interpret this little horn to refer to the historical Antiochus IV Epiphanes:

Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land (vv. 8-9).

This is where the historical interpretation begins to run into significant problems. For the “little horn” that grows large is not only said to conquer the northern swatch of the Middle East, it is also said to carry out some profound events in heaven:

It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper (vv. 10-12).

Now, will anyone claim that Antiochus caused some of the angels (stars) to fall from heaven? I certainly hope not. In fact, the Book of Revelation describes precisely the same event, but there it is Satan the dragon, who causes the angels to fall, and it is something that takes place in the last seven years before the return of Christ:

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth… the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Revelation 12:3-4,7-9 emphasis mine).

Next two angels began explaining the vision of the ram and the goat and the little horn, and Daniel is given some profound information concerning the timing of these things. One angel standing on the banks of the River Ulai (which is in modern day Iran) called to the other angel and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision” (v. 16). So Gabriel came to Daniel and said, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end” (v. 17).

Suddenly the idea that this was solely about the historical Persian and Greek empires becomes very difficult. For Gabriel himself told Daniel that the vision concerned the end times. He did not say that part of the vision was historical and part of it was future. He simply said that the vision concerned the time of the end. If it was not enough to say it once, Gabriel then repeated his statement to really let it sink in again stating: “Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end” (v. 19).

To be fair, Gabriel then went on to explain that the ram represented “the kings of Media and Persia,” while the goat represented “the kingdom of Greece.” The word there for Greece is actually Javan, which included the west coast of modern day Turkey as well.

Now, I have always interpreted the vision to pertain to the historical empires of Medo-Persia and Greece, and then the little horn, while being partially fulfilled in the life of Antiochus Epiphanes, to be ultimately fulfilled in the last days through Antichrist. Many other commentators hold to this view as well. Although I have more than 100 commentaries on the book of Daniel, I had never really considered any other view until I read “Daniel Revisited” by Mark Davidson. In that book, Davidson, taking a radical futurist perspective, makes some excellent points that I had simply never considered. When we actually read the explanation of Gabriel, the truth is that he does not make any such break in the vision, placing some of it in history and some of it the future. He simply says that the vision pertains to the time of the end. And then he says it again.

If the ultimate meaning of the entire vision is eschatological, pertaining to the time of the end, while it may certainly maintain a historical partial fulfillment, it may also very well speak of two forthcoming regional wars. The first war would be Iran “butting” as it were to the west, the north and the south – into the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and perhaps Bahrain, Azerbaijan and as far as Israel and Egypt. But after this, Turkey in the east would launch a counter offensive. After this time, it appears as though out of the ashes of these wars, in the region stretching from Nineveh (Mosul) to Turkey, we should expect to see the Antichrist arise, starting small but then gaining in power. With Iran already declaring that it will enter the fray in Iraq to respond to the ISIS offensive, the beginning of Daniel’s vision may very well be beginning to unfold right in front of us. Am I saying that this is absolutely how it is going to happen and that “this is that?” Not yet, but I think we can all acknowledge that what is now unfolding in Iraq and Iran makes this all a very real possibility.

]]>http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/a-bold-muslim-at-the-white-house/feed/0Iran's plan: Buy time with deal, then destroy enemieshttp://www.wnd.com/2013/12/irans-plan-buy-time-with-deal-then-destroy-enemies/
http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/irans-plan-buy-time-with-deal-then-destroy-enemies/#respondThu, 19 Dec 2013 00:22:38 +0000http://wp.wnd.com/?p=593551A recent report released by the Middle East Media Research Institute features Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini, an Iranian political analyst, spilling the beans concerning the Iranian perception of President Obama, the Geneva deal and Iran’s plan to annihilate not only Israel, but Saudi Arabia and the West.

Unsurprisingly, Al-Hosseini paints President Obama as a shamed and failed leader begging Iran for the opportunity to publicly shake President Hassan Rouhani’s hand as a means of public redemption. According to the translation by MEMRI, Hosseini is quoted as saying:

“Believe me, President Obama tried five times to get a free handshake from President Rohani, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly – and he failed. He said: ‘I am prepared to discuss the issue of Bahrain, like Iran wants – but just give me that handshake.'”

According to Hosseini, Obama’s humiliation on the world stage with the Syrian chemical weapons debacle was actually all part of an elaborate trap set by the Iranian government and Hezbollah that Obama walked right into. As a result of such a public humiliation, Obama had no choice but to turn to Iran to redeem his image:

“This was because he was defeated at the gates of Damascus. The chemical weapons [deal] was not a victory for him. It was a trap in which we ensnared him. He lost that battle, and we won it. Those [chemical weapons] were a heavy burden, pieces of scrap metal that we should have thrown into the sea, but we gave them to them in a very smart diplomatic maneuver. … What happened to the Americans, on the other hand? Obama had to make a great retreat. He was forced to accept a handshake from President Rohani, whom he considered a kind of Gorbachev or Sadat, so that the day would not come when he would be forced to kiss the hands of Hassan Nasrallah and Imam Khamenei, so that they would hold their fire in the great war that was prepared to annihilate Israel.”

Today many political analysts on the left continue to argue that Iran has no desire to actually use nuclear weapons against Israel, denying that any Iranian official has ever actually made such threats. Of course, there are too many examples to cite that debunk such claims. As far back as Al-Quds Day 2001, then-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, today Iran’s Expediency Council chairman, threatened:

“If one day, the Islamic world is also equipped with weapons like those that Israel possesses now, then the Imperialists’ strategy will reach a standstill because the use of even one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything. However, it will only harm the Islamic world. It is not irrational to contemplate such an eventuality.”

But on Dec. 16, 2013, in a televised interview, Ayatollah Rafsanjani, hit a different tone, lecturing the West about respecting the Geneva agreement: “World powers should respect other nations, and agreements reached between leaders of countries should be respected.”

And of course there were the numerous times that former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led chants of “Death to Israel” in the capital city of Tehran. And now, according to Hosseini, “It has been revealed that our missiles can now very easily reach Tel Aviv. We have weapons that can make Israel go blind.”

But beyond the redundant naked threats to Israel, Hosseini confirmed what analysts of Islamic theology and eschatology have warned of for years: namely that Iran’s ultimate end game is to deceive the West into giving them more time, with the ultimate goal of destroying Saudi Arabia and fulfilling their apocalyptic eschatological agenda of ushering in the coming of the 12th Imam.

“We are engaged in a fierce war with the Americans on all levels. This is the Treaty of Hudaybiyya in Geneva, and it will be followed by a conquest of Mecca. … The Geneva agreement was achieved due to three things. The first was our strategic patience. Iran has maintained strategic patience for a very long time – 10 or 11 years. We have been patient, preparing for the day that comes after those 10 years. We were preparing a large quantity of enriched uranium, so that when it is reduced … Incidentally, for your information, when you conduct political negotiations with Iran, you lose even when you think you have won. … The [Iranians] have raised the level of uranium enrichment far beyond the level they really needed, so that when the level would be lowered, they would emerge victorious.”

The reference to the Treaty of Hudaybiyya is a historical reference to a treaty made by Muhammad with the dominant Quraysh tribe, which was the strongest and most significant threat to the Muslims at the time, Muslims who were still a small upstart religious movement of no more than 1,200 men. Upon waking the morning after making this treaty with the Quraysh tribe, Muhammad had received a “revelation.” According to the revelation, from henceforth, anyone who joined the Muslims in their village raids and razzias would get a significant portion of the plunder, booty and sex slaves.

Without the threat of the most powerful tribe in the region to stop them, one by one, the Muslims began attacking and plundering several Jewish villages throughout Arabia. Within a period of two years, the Muslims went from being a small upstart cult of roughly 1,200 men to an experienced band of 10,000 religiously motivated desert pirates. After merely two years, now strong enough to take on the Qurayshis, Muhammad led his army into Mecca and conquered the city for Islam. The rest, of course, is history.

The point is that when a Muslim hears a reference to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, they very well understand it to mean the entering into an agreement solely for the purpose of gaining strength and buying time. But the goal remains the same: Victory over their enemies. And so this is how the Iranian government is viewing the Geneva deal – an opportunity to buy more time, to gain strength, in order to conquer not only Israel, but also Saudi Arabia and the whole Middle East. Hosseini’s words only confirm Iran’s end game:

“Saudi Arabia is on its way to perdition. Its role is over. Why? Because the Iranians have reached the Mediterranean Sea. You’ve begun to analyze the political situation correctly. There is a change. … The day Greece reached the Mediterranean coast, Persia fell to Alexander the Great for 300 years. Today, now that the Iranians are reaching the Mediterranean coast at Tyre, we are looking at 300 years of defeat for the Americans and the Westerners.”

One thing is sure, Hosseini’s words leave little room for a peaceful reinterpretation by the willing pawns in the mainstream media and on the political left. President Obama got his deal. But at what cost?